TV SHOWS: Jason Stratton on Top Chef!

Jason Stratton (Photo Bravo TV)

Seattle's Jason Stratton (General Manager/Executive Chef, Mamnoon) will be on season 13 of Top Chef! The two-night premiere airs Wednesday, December 2nd and Thursday, December 3rd on Bravo. Top Chef will be road tripping across the Golden State of California with stops in San Diego, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Oakland and San Francisco. Padma, Tom, Gail, Richard and Emeril will be judging the chefs culinary creations through their six-city expedition.

Check out the Top Chef Season 13 preview! Top Chef California: West Coast Here We Come!

Here is Jason's bio from Bravo's Top Chef website:

AGE: 35
HOMETOWN: Seattle, WA
PROFESSION: General Manager/Executive Chef, Mamnoon
CULINARY EDUCATION: No formal training; Worked under the mentorship of great chefs including Bruce Naftaly (Le Gourmand), Holly Smith (Cafe Juanita) and Jerry Traunfeld (Poppy)
FAVORITE SIMPLE FALL RECIPE: Bagna Caoda Flan with Sunchoke Puree

Jason Stratton started in the kitchen at age 16 working as a dishwasher for the "Godfather of Northwest cuisine" Bruce Naftaly where he was immersed in seasonal cooking. While applying to graduate school for poetry, he secured a Sous Chef position with Holly Smith at Cafe Juanita which sparked his long love of regional Italian cuisine. He would later helm the celebrated Spinasse in Seattle, where he was awarded "2010 Food & Wine Best New Chef" after just 6 months in the position.  He went on to open Artusi, a Bon Apetít Best New Restaurant in 2012, and Aragona, a James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2014 before taking on his current role of General Manager and Executive Chef for Mamnoon.

I can't wait for the start of Season 13 of Top Chef, and I wish Jason Stratton the best of luck!

FOOD NEWS: Seattle Food News from the Past Week

In case you missed any of the Seattle food news from the past week, I figured I would give you a little recap.

The Whale Wins and Joule tie for 9th Best New Restaurant of 2013
Bon Appetit announced its list of the top 10 best new restaurants in America for 2013. Seattle's own The Whale Wins and Joule both tied for the 9th spot on the list!!

Carrie Mashaney of Seattle will compete on the next season of Top Chef
Bravo has announced the cheftestants who will compete on the next season of Top Chef. Chef Carrie Mashaney, the chef de cuisine at the soon-to-open Aragona, was chosen to be on the show! Aragona, a Jason Stratton restaurant, will open late summer/early fall.

London Plane is now open in Pioneer Square
Matthew Dillon who owns Sitka and Spruce, The Corson Building, Bar Sajor, Bar Ferd'nand, and Old Chaser Farm, has recently opened his next venue called The London Plane. The new restaurant is on Occidental Avenue South in Pioneer Square. It's just a few address numbers down from Bar Sajor.

Josh Henderson to open Hollywood Tavern in Woodinville
I'm pretty sure you've heard of the food truck Skillet by now? After opening its first Skillet diner on Capitol Hill, and then more recently a second Skillet diner in Ballard, Josh is moving North! He plans to open Hollywood Tavern in Woodinville, which was previously Mabel's, a tavern that dates back to the 1930's. The new tavern is set to open in October. Henderson is also opening Westward and Little Gull Grocery on North Lake Union sometime this month.

Seattle Cider Company to open August 24th
Two Beers Brewing is opening Seattle's first post-prohibition cidery, Seattle Cider Company. They will be hosting a launch party Saturday, August 24th from 2:00 to 7:00pm at The Woods tasting room.

TV SHOWS: Top Chef Seattle - Episode 6 & Last Chance Kitchen Recap

The chefs enter the kitchen to see Padma standing next to Marilyn Hagerty, Food Critic from the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota. I was so surprised to see Marilyn, as I’m from North Dakota, and I grew up in the Grand Forks area. I’ve read Marilyn’s food column growing up! Marilyn became famous for her food critiqueof the Olive Garden in Grand Forks.  Growing up in North Dakota, we didn’t really have a whole lot of food choices in Grand Forks. I can remember we always wanted an Olive Garden in our city. Unfortunately, the Olive Garden opened long after I moved to Seattle. When Marilyn wrote her food column on her experience at Olive Garden, it became viral on the internet. Most food critics write food columns on independent restaurants, not food chains, so her column became popular because of her Olive Garden review. 

 

For the QuickFire Challenge, the chefs had to create a sweet and savory Holiday dish based on the chef's family lineage. The one twist to the challenge was that the chefs would only have one knife to use between all of them. The dishes created by each chef were:

Josh – Johnnycake with bacon, cheddar, chili compound butter and sous vide egg

Danyele – Bread Pudding with ham, raisins and pecans

Lizzie – Bobotie with Ground lamb, egg custard and roasted apricots

Sheldon – Banana Lumpia with peanut butter mousse, coconut and pineapple

Micah – Pineapple and pork tamale with charred tomato and tomatillo salsa

Bart – Waffles with celery three ways, apple puree, chicken and prosciutto

Brooke – Apple Crostata with cheddar cheese, candied pine nuts and apple salad

Stefan – Smoked Salmon Tartare, potato latkes with sour cream and chives

Josie – Tamale with habanero masa, mangos and papaya

John – Bundino of parmesan-reggiano, figs and apricots in port wine and Truvia caramel

Eliza – Hush Puppies two ways: shrimp and sweet potato, sausage and corn

I thought it was interesting that Kristen's finished dish was not shown being tasted in the QuickFire Challenge. I wonder why the Producers decided to edit her dish out? I watched the replay of the episode and noticed that Kristen was barely even noticable in the first half of the show? She was not interviewed about her family heritage, nor did they show her preparing her dish for the Challenge. So I wonder what is up with that??

As I could have predicted, Marilyn wasn’t too familiar with some of the food. Like I had mentioned before, growing up in North Dakota, you’re not exposed to too many different foods. I didn't even try Thai food, Sushi or India food until I moved to Seattle. It's a far cry from the meat and potatoes I grew up on as a kid. The winning dish chosen by Marilyn was created by Brooke, for her Apple Crostata with cheddar cheese, candied pine nuts and apple salad, which Marilyn lovingly called an apple pie. I just love her!

For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs had to create a dish for Chris Pratt’s and Anna Faris’ homecoming party that was held at Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center. Chris Pratt is best known as his character Andy Dwyer in the TV series Parks and Recreation. Anna Faris has starred in the Scary Movie film series and Lost in Translation. Chris and Anna are both from Western Washington. The judges for the Elimination Challenge were Rick Moonen, chef/owner of RM Seafood; Gail, Padma and Tom. Below is a list of dishes made by each chef:

Bart – Loin of Elk with cherry beer sauce and mushroom couscous

Brooke – Lamb-stuffed Squid on black rice with coconut milk

Sheldon – Braised Okinawan Pork Belly with seared scallop and  rice congee

Stefan – German Gulasch with marjoram bread dumplings and sour cream

Kristen – Delice de Bourgogne Tortelloni

Micah – Braised Pork Ribs with celery root puree, grilled apples and celery leaf salad

Lizzie – Crusted King Salmon with radish and beet salad

Eliza – Elk Ribeye with elk sausage polenta, spiced carrots and huckleberry port sauce

Danyele – Pan-Roasted Wild Boar, hoppin’ john and tomato-bacon marmalade

Josh – Roasted Pork Shoulder and Grilled Corn Puree with succotash and fennel apple salad

Josie – Malbec Braised Short Ribs, port belly, polenta with cippolini onions and figs

John – Seafood Chowder with cockles, manila clams, crab, mussels and sockeye salmon

The judges chose Brooke, John, Kristen and Sheldon as their favorite dishes. The winner of the Elimination Challenge was Brooke! She also won a brand new Prius. The least favorite dishes were made by Eliza, Josh, Micah and Danyele. The chef who was sent packing their knives was Eliza.

Last Chance Kitchen

Eliza was sent packing her knives, so she now has to go up against CJ and Tyler. The chefs have to work with two main ingredients, carrots and pickles. The chefs have 30 minutes to create their dish. Tyler made a Deconstructed Ceviche with pickles and carrots. Eliza created a Brown Butter Carrot Mash, crusted scallops, corn and pickle succotash. CJ prepared a Pan-Roasted Rainbow Trout, carrot puree and charred pickles. Tom overall was impressed with all three chefs. The winning dish was prepared by CJ. So now CJ is around for at least one more week to face the next chef.

Next week’s episode pits the chefs in head-to-head cook-offs. Check back to read my recap of the next episode! I'll be interested in seeing if anyone else noticed how Kristen was basically edited out of the first half of the episode.

TV SHOWS: Top Chef Seattle - Episode 5 & Last Chance Kitchen Recap

The chefs show up at the world famous Pike Place Market. Daisley Gorgan from Seattle restaurants Marche & Café Campagne is the judge for the Quickfire Challenge. The chefs must make breakfast-to-go on a stick for the Pike Place Market vendors. Breakfast on a stick?! Who the hell eats breakfast on a stick?! The chefs do not have any stoves or ovens to cook with, so they must go to Sur La Table to purchase their own cooking grill. Bart has a little spill on the way back to his cooking station, hoping that his grill didn’t break in the fall. The chefs got to choose from ingredients from Marche’s pantry. The dishes made by each team were:

Josh & John – Chilaquiles: Tortilla, Salsa, Quail Egg, Avocado-Heirloom Tomato Relish

Eliza & Josie – Ricotta Raspberry & Sausage Pancake with Jalapeno Maple Syrup

Micah & Kristen – Bacon & Cinnamon Waffle, Pecan Maple Syrup, Boysenberry & Strawberry Jam

CJ & Tyler – Salmon & Cream Cheese Crepe

Sheldon & Bart – Green Forest Breakfast Sandwich: Eggs, Cheese, Pancetta, Bacon & Spinach

Danyele & Lizzie – Summer Berries with Crispy Pancetta

Stefan & Brooke – Croque Monsieur: Pressed Ham & Cheese Sandwish with Toasted Fig

Daisley didn’t like Danyele & Lizzie’s Berries & Panacetta, nor did he like Eliza & Josie’s Ricotta & Sausage Pancake. He did like Josh & John’s Chilaquiles, and he also liked Sheldon & Bart’s Breakfast Sandwich. The winner of the Quickfire Challenge was Sheldon & Bart.

The chefs remained in the same teams of two for the Elimination Challenge. The chefs had to draw knives. The knives had an ingredient labeled on them. The chefs had to make a dish incorporating the chosen ingredient. The ingredients are from local Artisans from Pike Place Market. They chose the following ingredients:

Josh & John – Truffle Popcorn

Eliza & Josie – Cardamom Bitters

Micah & Kristen – Cheese Curds

CJ & Tyler – Spicy Dill Pickles

Bart & Sheldon – Salmon Candy

Danyele & Lizzie – Coconut Curry Chocolate

Stefan & Brooke – Rose Petal Jelly

The tasting for the Elimination Challenge took place at Marche. The judges were Daisley Morgan, Hugh, Gail, Tom and Padma. Also included in the judging were the Artisans who supplied the ingredients for the Elimination Challenge. They included Dale Nelson (Spicy Pickles & Rose Petal Jelly), Kurt Beecher Mammeier (Cheese Curds), Cara Davis-Jensen (Truffle Popcorn), Anders Miller (Salmon Candy), Miles Thomas (Cardamom Bitters), and Debra Music (Coconut Curry Chocolate). The dishes made by each team were:

Josh & John – Pan-Seared Pork Tenderloin with Truffle Popcorn Grits

Eliza & Josie – Curry Cardamom Broth with Manila Clams & Seared White King Salmon

Micah & Kristen – Cheese Curds Three Ways: Bechamel, Raw & Fried

CJ & Tyler – Pork Crumpet Burger with Spicy Dill Pickles

Bart & Sheldon – Candied Salmon with Sweet & Sour Salad

Danyele & Lizzie – Curry Chocolate Mousse Tart

Stefan & Brooke – Rose Petal Glazed Muscovy Duck with Braised Cabbage

Tom talked to the chefs and he told them that he and the judges were very disappointed in all of the dishes. He didn’t even award the $10,000 prize to a winning team, and a two-person team will be going home. Three teams were chosen to go before the judges. These three teams had the most disappointing dishes. The teams were Stefan & Lizzie (Yellow Team), Josh & John (Red Team), and CJ & Tyler (Gray Team). The judges basically ripped all of the chefs apart for their horrible dishes. The judges basically agreed that all three teams knew that there was something wrong with their dishes, but they didn’t do anything to correct it. Tom thought that the chefs just didn’t carry through with their concept. Hugh, Tom and Padma each hated a different dish, so then the tie-breaker was up to Gail. The losing team was CJ & Tyler, and they were sent packing their knives. CJ & Tyler will have a second chance in the Last Chance Kitchen.

Last Chance Kitchen

CJ & Tyler must now face off with Kuniko in Last Chance Kitchen. Carla, Jeffrey and Chrissy are sitting in watching the challenge. Tom announces to CJ & Tyler that they will again be working as a team to go up against Kuniko. Their challenge is to make a dessert, which is ironic since CJ was so critical of Danyele & Lizzie’s dessert in the Elimination Challenge. I think it was sort of a payback by Tom. This will be a challenge for Kuniko also, as she says she doesn’t like to eat dessert herself.

CJ wants to make “Hay Ice Cream” with Cherry Fritter, Cherries & Arugula. Tyler thinks CJ is a complete freak when he tells him of his ice cream idea. Even Tom thinks it sounds weird. Then CJ tells Tom that he’s never made Hay Ice Cream before. As Chrissy watches, she thinks the ice cream is a huge risk.

Kuniko prepared a Frozen Banana with Fruit Compote and Lemon Curd. Tom thought there was a lot going on with the dessert, but he seemed to like it. Tom didn’t really comment on the ice cream. Tom chose CJ & Tyler as the winners of this round of Last Chance Kitchen. It sucks to see Kuniko go, as she was one of my favorite chefs, and she is very talented.

Anna Faris and Chris Pratt will be on the next episode of Top Chef Seattle! Tune in next week for a recap of Episode 6.

TV SHOWS: Top Chef Seattle - Episode 4 Recap

The episode opens up with John and Josh having a war of words after last week’s elimination challenge. Stephan had one of the best quotes saying that it felt like he was on the “Housewives of Seattle”. The chefs enter the kitchen and are greeted by Padma and guest Naomi Pomeroy. You may remember Naomi from Top Chef Masters. Naomi is the owner of the restaurant Beast in Portland, OR. She has received mush acclaim over the years, including being selected as a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest. The curtain behind Padma and Naomi opened to reveal two hanging sides of beef. Their Quickfire Challenge is to butcher a cut of beef and create a dish in one hour. The chefs attack each side of beef to select their cuts. Chrissy and Carla had a little trouble getting one of the sides of beef off the hook. It wouldn’t be an episode without Stefan bitching about how loud Carla is in the kitchen.

Eliza created a flank steak marinated in soy with asparagus and cherries. John prepared braised ox tail with gnocchi and vegetables. Josh prepared beef meatballs with polenta and pickled shallots. Sheldon created kalbi round steak with tomato cardamom broth and a fennel salad. Brooke made a grilled hangar steak with smoked onion figs and cauliflower puree. Tyler prepared a Hispanic crudo with charred tomato sauce and a cilantro salad. Kristen made a Top Sirloin Tartare with Mustard Sabayon and a carpaccio salad. Micah created oxtail polenta with truffled romanesco cauliflower. Carla made a Sirloin Medallion wrapped in bacon and asiago risotto with marsala sauce. Stefan prepared a braised top round ravioli with marjoram and aged parmesan. CJ created a top round tartare with raw juniper and kohlrabi. Chrissy made grilled hanger steak with brown butter and a parsley and radish salad. Lizzie prepared a braised foreshank with turnips and dill.

The less successful dishes were prepared by Lizzie, Eliza and Tyler. The favorite dishes were prepared by CJ, John and Josh. The winner of the Quickfire Challenge was John. I’m sure CJ and Josh were not happy that John had won.

For the Elimination Challenge, Brian and Mark Canlis from Canlis Restaurant entered the kitchen. The challenge is to recreate the Canlis menu from 1950. The big surprise to the chefs was revealed by Padma when she mentioned that two chefs will be eliminated. The chefs looked over one of the original 1950 menus from Canlis and chose which dishes they would prepare.

The chefs arrive at Canlis restaurant and start preparing their meals. The judges for the elimination challenge are Padma, Tom, Emeril, Hugh Acheson, Brian and Mark Canlis.

The dishes that were prepared are:

Fresh Crab Leg Cocktail – Tyler

Marinated Herring – Lizzie

French Onion Soup – Josh

Steamed Clams Bordelaise – John

Canlis’ Special Salad – Chrissy

Seafood Salad a la Louis – Brooke

Fresh Hawaiian Mahi Mahi – Sheldon

Whole Milk-fed Squab – Carla

Mixed Vegetables – Micah

Calf’s Liver & French Fried Onions – Stefan & Kristen

Double Cut New York Steak – Bart

Gargantuan Baked Idaho Potato – Josie

Shish Kebab with Pilaf – CJ

French Mushrooms – Kristen

Vanilla Ice Cream – Danyele

Royal Hawaiian Supreme – Danyele

Mint Sherbet – Eliza

Fresh Frozen Hawaiian Pineapple Parfait – Eliza

At Judges Table, Padma brought out Tyler, Lizzie, Kristen and Stefan. The winner of the Elimination Challenge was Kristen. Padma asked for Carla, Chrissy, CJ and Josh. Tom said that Josh’s soup was cold. Padma thought it was too salty. Chrissy’s salad was soggy and over-dressed. Carla’s Squab was not prepared properly and most were under-cooked. CJ’s dish was dry and under-seasoned. The two chefs who were chosen to go home were Carla and Chrissy. 

But Carla and Chrissy were not going home quite yet. Last Chance Kitchen is back!! All four of the chefs who were sent packing their knives have another chance to redeem themselves and get back in the competition. Last Chance Kitchen is a web series that is aired on Thursdays. 

Jeffrey, Kuniko, Carla and Chrissy will complete in Last Chance Kitchen. The four chefs hang out in the “eliminated chef house”. Tom visits the four chefs to let them know that they will be competing in Last Chance Kitchen. The challenge for the chefs is to create a dish using the main ingredients from the dishes that got them cut from the competition. They can either recreate their eliminated dish, or create a new dish. 

Tom is the only judge for Last Chance Kitchen. Chrissy again prepared the Canlis’ Special Salad. Tom thinks this salad is better than the first. Carla prepared a whole squab with baked tomato and morels. Tom  didn’t say a word after tasting Carla’s squab. He just walked away to go sample Kuniko’s dish. Kuniko prepared a lemongrass cream potato chowder. Tom again did not say a word after tasting Kuniko’s potato chowder. Jeffrey prepared a pan-roasted halibut with peas and morels. Tom also liked Jeffrey’s second dish over his original. Tom did not like Carla’s squab. He said the legs were raw. The winning chef of the first Last Chance Kitchen was Kuniko. 

The preview for next week’s episode shows the chefs at Pike Place Market. They end up going to Sur la Table to purchase something to cook with to prepare their dishes, and Tom seems very pissed for some reason?!

Come back next week for a recap of episode 5.

TV SHOWS: Top Chef Seattle - Episode 3 Recap

Episode 4 of Top Chef Seattle begins with the chefs entering the kitchen for the Quickfire Challenge, waiting for them is Dana Cowin, Editor-in-Chief from Food and Wine, and Padma. For this Quickfire Challenge, the chefs had to create an authentic international dumpling. The chefs grab a knife off of a world map that represented a dumpling from that region of the world.  To help the chefs research the international dumpling they need to create, the pantry was supplied with Amazon Kindle Fires. What a shock! Product placement from a local Seattle company! As with all Quickfire Challenges, the chefs scrambled around the kitchen to make their dumplings.

Unfortunately, Kuniko was unable to plate her dumpling in time, so she didn’t have anything for Padma and Dana to sample. On the bottom were Brooke, her dumpling needed a wrapper; Carla’s Africa dumpling was more Italian than African; and Kuniko was ineligible since she was unable to finish her dumpling. The best dumplings were made by Josie, Stefan, and Micah. The winner of the International Dumpling Quickfire Challenge was Josie with her Mandu Korean dumpling. She now has immunity in the Elimination Challenge.

Since this episode aired a day before Thanksgiving, the Elimination Challenge this week was to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for the Seattle organization Farestart, which provides culinary training for homeless and disadvantaged individuals. The chefs were split into two teams, Gray and Red. The big surprise for this challenge was when Tom and Emeril entered the kitchen. Tom will lead the Red Team and Emeril will lead the Gray Team. Tom’s Team decides to go with an Italian theme Thanksgiving dinner, and Emeril’s Team naturally goes with a New Orleans Creole inspired dinner.

The judges for the Thanksgiving Elimination Challenge included Dana Cowin, Megan Karch, Executive Director of Farestart; and Seattle Chef and restaurant owner, Thierry Rautureau. Josie presented the Gray Team’s dinner. The judges liked the flavor of the Gray Team’s turkey, but the inside of the turkey was almost raw. The Gray Team prepared two dressings, one was Emeril’s Mom’s stuffing, prepared by Danyele, and the other was a cornbread stuffing, prepared by John.  Kristen’s root vegetables came with a truffle puree and crème fraiche. Tyler prepared a sausage and shrimp Gumbo, which was lacking flavor.  Kuniko’s potato Pave was raw and under-seasoned. Sheldon’s Braised Greens had good texture, but were a bit undercooked. Brooke prepared the Sweet Potato biscuits, which all the judges seem to like. Chrissy prepared White Chocolate and Pecan Bread Pudding. John made a Spiced Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Ricotta Torte.

Chris presented the Red Team’s dinner to the judges. He prepared the Italian inspired turkey, which turned out better than the Gray Team’s under-cooked turkey. Carla prepared a Carrot Soup with turkey meatballs. Bart prepared a Fennel, Gorgonzola, Orange and Pumpkin Seed salad. Josh prepared a Sweet Potato Ravioli with Pecans. Emeril thought the ravioli was the weakest dish of the Gray Team's dinner. Micah prepared Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries, Bacon and Shallots, which according to the judges were not seasoned. Lizzie prepared a Potato Puree. Stefan made a Panna Cotta with Orange Cardamom and crisp and candied pecans. Padma thought the Cardamom was too strong, but Tom thought it was the best part of the dessert. Eliza made a Chocolate Tart with white chocolate and mint syrup.

Judges Decision: Since Tom and Emeril were the leads on each team, they of course were not part of the judging. The four remaining judges all chose Tom’s Red Team over Emeril’s Gray Team. Chris (CJ), Carla and Lizzie from the Red Team were brought before the judge’s table to select the winner of the Elimination Challenge. The winning dish was prepared by Carla, for her carrot soup. Next were the chefs chosen from the losing Gray Team. Even though Rosie had immunity, the judges wanted to let her know that the turkey was under-cooked. The other chefs chosen were Tyler, Kuniko and Sheldon. Kuniko was the chef sent packing her knives. It just wasn’t her week. First, she didn’t finish her dumpling in the Quickfire Challenge, and then she under-cooked her potato Pave. I liked Kuniko and she showed promise last week when she won the Elimination Challenge.

The stakes are raised in next week’s episode as two chefs will be sent packing their knives, and tension seems to heat up between Josh and Stefan.

Be sure to check back next week for my recap of episode 4!

TV SHOWS: Top Chef Seattle - Episode 2 Recap

Top Chef Seattle: Episode 2 finally brings the contestants to the Emerald City. This was the first time for all the contestants to see each other and size up the competition. The first Quickfire Challenge was judged by three previous Top Chef competitors, which include: Chris Jacobsen, Josie Smith-Malave and Stefan Richter. For the Quickfire Challenge the contestants are divided into five groups of three, and they must create a dish that features local shellfish. The least-liked dish was a razor clam chowder that was created by Danyele, Eliza and Josh. The judges said the chowder was under-seasoned. The winning dish belonged to the team of John, Sheldon and Kuniko. They created a geoduck-apple sashimi. The winning team drew knives for immunity in the Elimination Challenge, and John won the draw.

The big surprise of the episode was the announcement that the former contestants Chris, Josie and Stefan were now joining the competition with the other contestants. This, of course, did not go over well with the other chefs. They all feel that the three former contestants already had their chance to win Top Chef, and feel that they have an unfair advantage since they have already been on the show. So we'll see how these three fair this time.

The chefs remain in their groups of three for the Elimination Challenge. The contestants must use regional ingredients to cook a dinner for Seattle icon James Beard Award Winner and Restaurateur, Tom Douglas. I just knew Top Chef couldn't come to Seattle without having Tom Douglas in at least one episode. I love Tom Douglas, and all of his great Seattle restaurants. The Elimination Challenge included another Seattle icon, the Space Needle! It's fitting that the producers went with the Needle as the location for the first Elimination Challenge, since it is the most recognizable landmark in Seattle.

The contestants cooked their dishes at the Space Needle kitchen at the Sky City restaurant at the top of the Needle. The contestants were given 47 minutes to prepare their dishes, as that is the amount of time it takes the rotating restaurant to make one full rotation. The judges for the Elimination Challenge were Padma, Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse, Gail Simmons and Tom Douglas.

The winning group of the Elimination Challenge was John, Kuniko and Sheldon. They prepared a cod poached in chili oil with dashi and spot prawn shabu shabu. The individual winner of the group was Kuniko. The bottom two groups consisted of CJ, Stefan, Josie, Brooke, Bart and Jeffrey. Jeffrey was selected as the chef to go home for his overcooked fish. I was sad to see Jeffrey go. he was one of the contestants that I really liked. I would rather have seen Stefan go home. His arrogance bothers me.

Next week is the Thanksgiving episode! Come back to check out my rundown of the episode.

TV SHOWS: Was Seattle Chosen for Top Chef?

[Photo: Chow Down Seattle]

I previously posted that the next season of Bravo TV's Top Chef was looking at either Seattle or Portland to stage their reality chef competition. Eater Seattle reports that they believe Seattle is the city of choice. A commenter on their site had some insider tips that the production company for the show is possibly leasing some office space in Redmond. Let's hope this is true! If it is, there should be more sightings of the show's crew and contestants around Seattle.

TV SHOWS: Top Chef Seattle?

[Photo: Chow Down Seattle]

There are rumors circulating that Bravo TV's popular chef competition show, Top Chef, is now looking at either Portland, Oregon or Seattle, Washington for the location of their next season. Their last season was in Texas. I would love it if Seattle was chosen, but it would be pretty cool if Portland was chosen too. If the rumors are true it looks like a Northwest Top Chef!

TV SHOW: Top Chef has four Seattle hopefuls

The ninth season of Top Chef is taking place in Texas. Bravo has released the names of 29 possible contestants. 16 of those 29 go on to compete on the popular Bravo reality show. Four of those 29 "hopefuls" are from Seattle!

The four Seattle hopefuls are: Simon Pantet of Capitol Hill's 22; Colin Patterson of Wallingford's Sutra; Nina Vicente of Belltown's Spur Gastropub; and Ashley Villaluz, who is listed as a Sous Chef in Seattle. Top Chef: Texas premieres November 2nd. The entire list of all 29 hopefuls can be found at Eater National.

I'm a huge fan of Top Chef and I wish all the Seattle hopefuls the best of luck!

Top Chef: Las Vegas

The new season of Bravo's Top Chef starts Wednesday, August 19th, and this season it has some local flavor! Not one, but two local chefs will be competing on the popular chef competition show on Bravo. Robin Leventhal and Ashley Merriman will both be representing Seattle when the new season premieres.

Robin Leventhal is the former owner of Crave, a popular Seattle Bistro. She is currently helping to raise money for Lymphoma research and is closely involved with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. I have had the privilege to have eaten at Crave a few times before it closed down, and Robin was our server. Crave used to be located on 12 Avenue on Capitol Hill. The food was amazing and the little bistro was always packed full of customers.

I also had the privilege to attend one of Robin's Copper Cure Charity Auctions last year to help raise money for cancer research. The auction included copper molds, gift baskets, and private chef dinners. Above are some pictures I took from last year's event.

The other local chef on the show is Ashley Merriman. Ashley is the current chef at Branzino in Seattle. The restaurant is located in Belltown on 2nd Ave. She also used to work at Tilth. Unfortunately I have not visited Brazino yet, but I definitely want to check it out. I'm sure they will be busy with the exposure the restaurant will receive with their star chef being a contestant on Top Chef. Ashely has been recognized as one of the Seattle culinary scene's brightest new talents.

I'm a foodie, food blogger (Chow Down Seattle Food Blog) and a huge fan of Top Chef. I'm really excited to have two very talented and creative Seattle chefs on one of Bravo's most popular reality-competion shows. I will be watching every episode each week, and I hope both Seattle chefs make it to the finals! I wish both Robin and Ashley the best of luck on the show!

Top Chef: Las Vegas will air on Bravo! TV Network starting on Wednesday, August 19th at 9:00pm PST.

Let the cooking begin!